I could make some suggestions, Steve. But I won't, since my past suggestions were readily dismissed—I guess on the grounds that I "don't believe the Word of God," which suggests to me a bit of bibliolatry.
However, I found the following questions from Homer to be questions I have often asked:
Homer wrote:We do hear people say things like this (God told me, etc.); it is not unusual. But the question I have is in what manner did they perceive God speaking to them? Did they hear God speak audible words to them? Could a bystander have heard anything? Or did God "speak" to them by means of thoughts, mental impressions, or feelings? If so, how would a person know for certain that it was God?
I asked one man who frequently said such things, "How does God speak to you? Does He speak in an audible voice?" and the man replied, "Yes." I didn't believe him.
However, I did know of one man (I'll call him "C") to whom I am convinced that God did speak in an audible voice. C and his siblings were raised to be atheists. C was my cousin's husband. I stayed in their home for awhile. C was gentle and loving with his wife and children. During my stay in their home, C's wife began attending the church I attended at the time and became a Christian. She also brought the children to Sunday school. C didn't object as he said, "It won't hurt them any." C used to ask me questions such as, "Do animals go to heaven?" I think he wondered just far-fetched my beliefs were. C was a very straightforward and honest person.
Long after my stay at their place, I heard the following story:
C went to a pub with his brother, who was also an atheist. They had just sat down, and C heard someone say, "C, what are you doing? You shouldn't even be here!" C couldn't believe the words he heard, but he asked his brother, "Did you say something?" His brother said, "No." Then C said, "I thought heard someone say something." (By the way, Homer, C's brother was right there, but heard nothing). A couple of minutes later, C looked up, and to his astonishment, everyone in there looked like skeletons!
For some reason, after seeing the vision of skeletons, C believed that God had spoken to him, and was dealing with him. He said to his brother, "I'm getting out of here!"
"Why?" asked his brother. "God has spoken to me!"
"What? Are you crazy? I'm not going anywhere!"
"I am," said C, and he stood up and walked out.
At this word, C's brother thought that maybe C was going out of his mind, and so out of concern for him, he accompanied C home.
At home, after talking to his Christian wife, C himself entrusted himself to Christ.
After I heard this story, I was anxious to hear it from C's own mouth, and so find out if it had really happened. A few months later, I had the opportunity. C and his family were visting us, and I asked C to tell me about the matter. He told it exactly as I had heard it and related it above. I said to him, "That's really amazing to me. God has never spoken to me in an audible voice."
C replied, "Don, you didn't need it! But in my case I would NEVER have become a Christian if God hadn't spoken to me audibly. For I didn't believe in His existence. Before God spoke to me, if anyone had told me that such a thing had happend to him, I would have called him a liar to his face! But now, that I know God is real, all I want to do is to serve Him!"